Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What happens when a nation’s energy security rests on volatile global gas markets? Why does the UK pay market prices for some of the world’s cheapest-to-produce gas? And is now the moment to rethink decades of “leave it to the market” dogma?
This week on Cleaning Up, Baroness Bryony Worthington sits down with Seb Kennedy, energy journalist and founder of Energy Flux, to unpack the turbulent geopolitics of natural gas, the coming LNG glut, and why the UK–Norway relationship sits at the heart of Britain’s energy affordability crisis.
Drawing on their recent joint op-ed, Bryony and Seb explore the UK’s dependence on Norwegian gas, the vast windfalls that have flowed into Norway’s sovereign wealth fund since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and whether a new bilateral deal could shield consumers from future price shocks. They examine the structural forces reshaping global gas markets, the rise of speculative trading, and whether electrification will become harder when gas gets cheap.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Discover more:
• Read Seb & Bryony’s Op-Ed on Energy Flux: https://www.energyflux.news/uk-norway-gas-trade-time-for-a-new-deal/
• Seb’s Energy Flux Podcast: https://www.energyflux.news/tag/podcast/
• Michael’s conversation with Carine Ihenecho Smith, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at Norges Bank Investment Group: youtube.com/watch?v=H028Vwf7pNM
• The UK’s updated plan for the North Sea gas transition: gov.uk/government/news/north-sea-future-plan-for-fair-managed-and-prosperous-transition
• Britain eases opposition to new oil, gas permits, holds firm on taxes | Reuters: reuters.com/business/energy/uk-government-allows-some-new-oil-gas-fields-holds-firm-taxes-2025-11-26
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
04:38 - The Gas Rollercoaster
08:20 - Demand Destruction
11:43 - US Paradox
15:30 - US-China Trade
20:00 - Bifurcation of Gas Market
25:00 - Affordability
26:28 - Impact on Electrification
31:11 - Norway-UK Gas Trade
36:06 - Falling Gas Prices
40:00 - A New Deal
45:00 - Lack of UK Gas Storage
52:00 - Sovereign Wealth Fund
56:45 - Electrification & Gas Prices
01:00:00 - Gas Market Speculation
What happens when a nation’s energy security rests on volatile global gas markets? Why does the UK pay market prices for some of the world’s cheapest-to-produce gas? And is now the moment to rethink decades of “leave it to the market” dogma?
This week on Cleaning Up, Baroness Bryony Worthington sits down with Seb Kennedy, energy journalist and founder of Energy Flux, to unpack the turbulent geopolitics of natural gas, the coming LNG glut, and why the UK–Norway relationship sits at the heart of Britain’s energy affordability crisis.
Drawing on their recent joint op-ed, Bryony and Seb explore the UK’s dependence on Norwegian gas, the vast windfalls that have flowed into Norway’s sovereign wealth fund since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and whether a new bilateral deal could shield consumers from future price shocks. They examine the structural forces reshaping global gas markets, the rise of speculative trading, and whether electrification will become harder when gas gets cheap.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Discover more:
• Read Seb & Bryony’s Op-Ed on Energy Flux: https://www.energyflux.news/uk-norway-gas-trade-time-for-a-new-deal/
• Seb’s Energy Flux Podcast: https://www.energyflux.news/tag/podcast/
• Michael’s conversation with Carine Ihenecho Smith, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at Norges Bank Investment Group: youtube.com/watch?v=H028Vwf7pNM
• The UK’s updated plan for the North Sea gas transition: gov.uk/government/news/north-sea-future-plan-for-fair-managed-and-prosperous-transition
• Britain eases opposition to new oil, gas permits, holds firm on taxes | Reuters: reuters.com/business/energy/uk-government-allows-some-new-oil-gas-fields-holds-firm-taxes-2025-11-26
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
04:38 - The Gas Rollercoaster
08:20 - Demand Destruction
11:43 - US Paradox
15:30 - US-China Trade
20:00 - Bifurcation of Gas Market
25:00 - Affordability
26:28 - Impact on Electrification
31:11 - Norway-UK Gas Trade
36:06 - Falling Gas Prices
40:00 - A New Deal
45:00 - Lack of UK Gas Storage
52:00 - Sovereign Wealth Fund
56:45 - Electrification & Gas Prices
01:00:00 - Gas Market Speculation
